Zach Payne (boundpayne) wrote in shadows_rpg, @ 2023-12-09 19:05:00 |
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Entry tags: | #july 2018, toby, toby x zach, zach |
Who: Toby and Zach
When: midday, Thursday, July 19th
Where: beach
Status: complete
There were definite downsides to working for himself, but the biggest perk for Zach was setting his own schedule and taking random days off, like today. It definitely came in handy while dating a nurse -- Toby’s schedule was much more erratic and demanding, and Zach was stupid-happy that he could easily make time on those rare days his boyfriend had completely off. It was just another sign of how compatible they were, to Zach’s romantic brain. And the signs were building up and up and up!
After chatting about it a bit, they’d decided to go to the beach and spend some time together, do some window shopping, get some dinner. The sky was overcast and it was hot and humid out, but that was kind of the perfect time to be near the water, wasn’t it? Plus on a random Thursday afternoon it wouldn’t be too crowded. It was tourist season, so there were definitely more people around than normal, but Point Pleasant was far from Cancun. There was plenty of space between them and the other beach-goers, and Zach appreciated the relative privacy as he dropped his bag next to the blanket they’d just spread out and reached to peel his shirt off. Since his top surgery, he loved being shirtless, and the beach was a great place to do it.
He flashed a grin at Toby and gave a stretch, eyeing the water. “How cold do you think it’s gonna be?” Zach mused.
Toby knew his schedule could be a pain. It often made dating difficult, especially when he worked nights or weekends. Most people wanted some consistency in his life, not understanding that Toby flourished in chaos. Routine was great at work, necessary even, but in his personal life he loved spontaneity. That Zach was able to make his schedule work with Toby’s felt like kismet. He tried to be mindful of the hours he kept, but often found Zach to be flexible, his own hours just as bizarre sometimes. The best part was being able to coordinate their days off, so they could spend the day together. The weather might not be perfect, but Toby was going to do his best to soak up the summer sun while they had it.
“Too cold for serious swimming,” Toby grinned, eye sweeping over Zach as he appreciated the view before him. “Which probably means I’ll give it a try, then spend the rest of the afternoon trying to warm back up.” The water never got warm enough in his opinion. If he ever had a house, he’d put in a hot tub so that he could use it year round with no concerns about the weather. “You getting in?”
Zach loved the water, but he wasn’t much of a ‘serious’ swimmer anyway, much preferring to just splash around and have fun with it. He was a cannonball master, but that was more for pools than the ocean. The ocean was for bobbing in the waves and horsing around and wishing he could surf and being paranoid about stepping on crabs or what just brushed up against his leg. Zach loved it. He flashed Toby a flirty grin. “I’ll warm you right back up, don’t worry. But yeah, at least a little, c’mon!” It wasn’t a super sunny day and the ocean breeze was no joke, so it would be chilly, but that just meant they could cuddle together under a towel when they were done and warm each other up. Zach grabbed Toby’s hand to pull him toward the water,
Normally Toby would’ve wanted to bask in the sun first, get nice and toasty before getting in to cool off, but with the weather as it was, that wasn’t likely to happen. He could lay out all day and still might not need to take a dip, but all it took was Zach’s hand in his to coax him towards the water. “Okay, yeah, let’s go,” Toby laughed, rising to his feet to follow Zach. Everything about the day felt good to him and he wanted to follow that feeling, especially if it included making Zach happy. But the moment he stepped in the water, Toby’s steps slowed. “Oh my God, it’s cold,” he whined, shifting from one foot to the other, constantly moving as he tried to get used to it.
It seemed like Zach’s nervous system was always going a hundred miles an hour, always eager for stimulation, whether that was something fun or intense -- or both! Plunging into cold water wasn’t so fun for most people, but the burn on his ankles delighted Zach as he started to go in with Toby. The whining made him laugh, even if it was a little mean, and he let go of his boyfriend’s hand to charge ahead. “Aw, it’s not that bad!” he insisted cheerfully. Zach let out a little squeal of his own as he splashed water up around his legs. It was definitely cold, but it felt good to him too for whatever weird reason. Though maybe it wasn’t so weird, people dove into cold water all the time, it was supposed to be good for you, right? Yeah, something like that. Grinning wickedly, Zach cupped a bit of water in his hand to fling it back at Toby.
“It is!” Toby laughed, his body tensing as he waded further into the water, following after Zach. He knew what was coming just a moment before it happened, but there was nothing he could do to stop the water from splashing over his chest. Precognition was absolutely useless in these situations, though if he’d really wanted to avoid getting wet, he’d have never stepped near the water. “Ah!” he half screamed, his body going rigid as a chill swept over him. And then he snapped. A grin spread over his face, the cold not gone but completely ignored, as his hand scraped across the water, flinging it back at Zach. “Come ‘ere, you,” he cackled, attempting to chase after him, a feat that felt almost impossible the higher the water rose. It didn’t matter how cold it was at that point, just that he soaked Zach before Zach soaked him.
Making Toby scream and then retaliate was a delight, and Zach cackled even as his body jerked from the cold water hitting his torso. At least it looked like Toby was having fun with it, even if it was uncomfortable. Zach didn’t think he was the type to get bitchy about horseplay, but you never knew. “Oh hell no!” he yelled when Toby advanced on him. He was laughing as he turned to try to ‘run’ through the water, pulling his knees up high as they got deeper, almost losing his balance once or twice from the waves. It was probably the slowest, most unsteady pursuit in history, and since he wasn’t really trying to get away -- laughing madly and twisting a couple of times to throw more splashes Toby’s way -- it wasn’t long before Toby caught up to him.
If Zach had actually run, he might have been able to get away from Toby, but every time he turned to splash him, Toby closed more of the distance between them. When he was just a couple of feet away, Toby lunged, grabbing Zach by the waist and plunging them both into the water. Even though the water was shallow enough to stand, Toby released Zach as soon as they both went under, only to come up seconds later, brushing his curls out of his face as he laughed. “Gotcha,” he grinned, his hands finding Zach’s waist, both seeking warmth and with a desire to touch him. He looked incredible, even soaked to the bone, and Toby couldn’t ever get enough.
Even though that was exactly what he’d wanted, Zach got a little squeal out before they crashed into the water. It was still cold, but the kind of cold he knew he could get used to if he just stayed in it and kept moving around. He got a fun rush out of the dunking though, squirming underwater to orient himself and then popping up a second after Toby. Laughing, Zach passed a hand down his face and through his hair before he grinned back at his boyfriend. “Yeah you do,” he answered, about more than just the tackle. Toby had him in all kinds of ways. Zach bounced up in the water to glomp onto Toby’s body and cling, arms around his shoulders and legs around his waist, and planted a few quick kisses against his jaw. “We’ll huddle together for warmth,” he tittered. “And so the sea monsters don’t get us.”
Toby laughed as Zach launched himself into his arms, his own working to hold him so they didn’t topple over into the water again. It took a second to catch his balance, but once his feet were stable and his arms securely holding Zach in place, he hummed happily into the kisses. “I think a sea monster already got me,” Toby snickered. “A four armed kraken? A merman with legs? No, I think you’re a water nymph. Not really a monster though.” If there were monsters to fear, Toby would be nowhere near the water, but he felt good about it today, safe enough to play around without worry of anything crazy happening to them. He’d never had a bad experience at the beach and he hoped he never did. He enjoyed it too much to start avoiding it.
One of the benefits of being a smaller guy was being able to be held and carried -- they were deep enough that the water was bolstering his ass a bit, but Toby was still handling his weight easily and it was hot. Most things about him were hot, of course, but Zach sometimes liked to feel like he was light and easy to manhandle around. He tittered at the comparisons to other denizens of the sea. “I can get down with being a water nymph, sounds sexy,” he said with a playful grin. “I think a merman with legs would have like, a fish head, right? Fish upper-body?” Zach giggled again and nipped at Toby’s jaw. “Ugly, but I wish I could swim like I was half-fish.” It was beyond nice, bobbing in the water that was still cold but his body was getting used to, the breeze ruffling their hair. “Being an octopus would be fun too, all those different arms to do stuff with, and you can fart out ink at anybody you don’t like.”
“I’m not sure a fish head is ever sexy, so that can’t be you, honey,” Toby grinned, mentally crossing backwards merman off the list. Swimming fast wouldn’t be worth it if Zach lost his beautiful face for it. “An octopus sounded fun until you reminded me where the ink comes from and now it’s a hard no. Is that the technical term? Farting out ink? I’m glad you like me,” he snickered as he moved them into deep enough water that Zach was easy to hold. The water was still cold, but having his boyfriend so close helped make up the warmth. “Let’s go with nymph. It sounds the sexiest and if you want to have extra arms for fun times, who’s to say you can’t? You’re a magical being, love. Be what you want to be.”
Zach actually didn’t know all the ins and outs of octopus anatomy, he had no idea if they even had a butt or could fart the same as land-mammals. Maybe there was a special ink jet somewhere else on them. Pondering it all was making him laugh though, and that was always fun. He bobbed a bit in the deeper water, still clinging to Toby like a koala. Water-koala! “I am a magical being, dammit!” Zach agreed with enthusiasm. “I’ll have all the damn arms I want, or tentacles, or whatever you enjoy the most.” He grinned and gave Toby a cheesy sort of wink. “So if I’m a water nymph, what are you? Some helpless sailor fallen into my clutches? Pirate rogue checking off conquests on some water fantasy list, hmmm?”
“Tentacles could be fun,” Toby snickered, easily imagining Zach sticking them in all sorts of inappropriate places. But that was probably weird, so water nymph was better. At least it sounded somewhat human. “Pirate sounds way sexier, and I could totally get behind the guy liner, but that doesn’t really sound like me,” he grinned. He wasn’t one for conquests and he definitely wasn’t any kind of rogue. Being a pirate required at least a speck of bravery and Toby wasn’t sure he had enough to count. “I’m more likely the helpless sailor, happily enjoying being caught in your clutches. So long as you don’t drown me.”
Sexy tentacles seemed kind of tame to Zach, but he’d been immersed in the online porn world for quite a while, so he’d Seen Some Shit. He even had a dildo that was shaped like a tentacle, and he’d had more than one special request to use it. Anime porn had done some weird things to a lot of people’s psyche. But Toby hadn’t told him he was that kind of freak, so Zach wasn’t going to assume he was into the idea. “Ohmygod, you in guy liner? Ugh, so hot,” he gushed instead. He rolled his eyes back and bit his lip with a little groan. Toby was hot all day every day, but eyeliner just made everyone sexier. “I promise I won’t drown you,” Zach went on with enthusiasm. “I’ll just use my nymph magic to let you breathe underwater with me. And then we’re livin’ under da sea.” The last part came out as a song as his brain flashed back to The Little Mermaid and Zach laughed again. “A warmer one though, we’d have to move. Shit, this is cold.”
“You can’t do that in public,” Toby muttered when Zach bit his lip and groaned. “Not when you’re half naked and wrapped around me.” Not that he was any better, nuzzling and kissing Zach’s neck. The only thing keeping his body in check was the temperature of the water, but if Zach kept that up, anything was possible. “We’d need warmer water for sure,” he grinned. “Otherwise, I don’t think I’d last.” He was struggling even now, wishing they had a real warm beach there in Point Pleasant. Maybe next summer they could take a vacation instead of just pretending. It felt too soon for it now, but by then it wouldn’t be. Toby shivered. “One more dunk, then we go get warm?” He didn’t even give Zach time to answer. Instead, he pulled them both under, cold water surrounding them with a splash.
Zach had tittered over the first part, always wickedly pleased to tease Toby. Being in the ocean waves where nobody could really hear or see them well didn’t feel like it was out in public, but it was close enough, he supposed. Before he could reply, he was being dunked, and Zach just managed to grab a breath before his whole body was submerged in the cold water. It was exhilarating, but also uncomfortable and wiped all thought from his mind for a minute. He sputtered out a laugh when they came up for air again, shaking his head quickly to sling some of the water off. “Okay, okay!” he gasped, still grinning. “I give! Back to the sand.” Hopefully the sun being high and bright would warm them up fast, because Zach was starting to really feel the pain from the water temperature now. He wasn’t going to make Toby carry him all that way though, so he unwrapped his legs to get his feet under him again to wade through the waves back to shore.
As soon as Toby went under, he regretted dunking them. The water was cold and it didn’t feel like he was going to get used to it any time soon, or ever. It was better to just abandon the cause and accept that they’d be better off on the sand. He brushed his hair out of his face as soon as he came up, rising to his feet to get as much of his body out of the water as possible, then took Zach’s hand to help him. “Truce,” he grinned over at Zach as they made their way back to their towels. A shiver overtook him and he laughed it off. “Okay, got our fill of water for the day. It’s always so much colder than I remember it being.” Maybe he just really wanted it to be warmer, so his brain erased that part. He didn’t really regret it though. Even though he was cold, he was having fun with Zach and that was what mattered.
The physical discomfort was temporary, Zach knew they would warm up fast, stretched out in the sun, even with the breeze. “They say it’s really good for you, dunking into ice water, and this is pretty much the same,” he replied, grinning back. It wasn’t really an apology for dragging Toby into the ocean, but he didn’t feel sorry so whatever! It had been fun, even if it hurt. That applied to a bunch of things in life, didn’t it? He held onto Toby’s hand as they walked up the sand until they’d reached their stuff, then Zach grabbed for his towel to shake it out and spread it so he could plop down. The sunshine already felt good on his skin, and he stretched his legs out a bit and hiked his trunks up to let his pale thighs get some vitamin D. “Maybe I’ll actually get a tan this year,” he said, then laughed. “Do you lay out much?”
“Yeah, ice baths are supposed to be good for all kinds of things,” Toby agreed. “I don’t think I could ever do one, so that’s the closest I’ll get.” If Zach hadn’t been there, he might not have even gotten in, but it was easier to push past the cold for a bit with Zach beside him. No apology was expected because Toby had wanted to be there in the first place. Getting dunked just came with the territory. “Naw, I don’t purposefully lay out, but I try to get out and walk a lot, soak up some sun that way,” he said, shaking out his towel and then stretching out on it. Laying back, he folded his hands behind his head. “I want that healthy glow, you know? Whenever I try and lay out, I somehow get burnt.”
Zach laid back on his towel next to Toby, squinting his eyes closed as he groped around for his sunglasses. Once they were in place, the sun was more tolerable, and he tried to soak it up even harder to warm him up faster. “I fell asleep out here once and got super burned, Jai thought I was such an idiot,” he recalled with a laugh. “But I don't usually burn, I just tan really slow, I dunno why.” He wasn’t one of those people who had to be a particular shade of brown to be happy, but Zach liked the way it made his body look more defined when he was on camera. The ring lights tended to wash him out if he was too pale. “Did you go on summer vacations a lot with your family or anything?” he asked.
Toby liked being tan, but he didn’t like being burnt and he didn’t like putting in the work. He’d also been in healthcare long enough to know that too much sun really was a bad thing, so he’d just come to accept that sometimes he was going to be pasty white. “I won’t let you fall asleep and burn,” Toby smiled. His eyes moved over Zach’s body, admiring it. He liked him no matter how much sun he’d had. “Yeah, we…” he started, then paused, reining in the instinct to lie to the boy he liked. “We went to Disney once, when I was maybe six or seven. We piled in the car and drove all the way down to Florida. But that’s the only big summer vacation we ever went on. As a family, I mean.” His mom had never had enough money for much else and he’d obviously gone nowhere while being held by AIR. “Once I hit college, I took road trips with friends.”
Zach’s family situation hadn’t allowed for many family vacations either, so he could sympathize with whatever was between Toby’s words. He wasn’t even thinking about Toby being held captive as a kid, even though he probably should have. It was easy to forget all the trauma his boyfriend had been through when things felt so light and good. Zach’s brain was just scattered and not always the most considerate, especially when Toby’s gaze was making him feel hot. “Yeah? Where was your favorite place?” he asked, grinning lazily over at Toby. He was curious, but he was also daydreaming about the two of them taking a trip together. Jai would have to come, if it was very far away, so it would probably have to stay a daydream ... and he would have to explain it one day. Zach pushed that from his mind, not really wanting to think about it yet.
“Oh man, it’s gotta be New York City,” Toby grinned, shifting to lay on his side facing Zach. “I could never afford to live there, and probably wouldn’t want to if I’m honest, but it’s got everything—clubs for every scene, great music venues, and a theater district to die for. And more restaurants than I know what to do with. Anything you want to try, they’ve got it.” It wasn’t a relaxing vacation in the least, about as far from a beach vacation as he could think of, but he loved that city. He was like the Energizer Bunny the whole time he was there, just going and going, high on the lights and the sounds and the beat of the city, and only really rested once he got back home. “You ever been?”
Hearing Toby talk about it made Zach grin. He made it sound so awesome, Zach wanted to jump in the car and go right that second. If he got enough caffeine in him and had enough stimulation, he could stay awake for a couple of days at a time, which sounded like it would come in handy in a place like that. “Hell no,” he answered with a bit of a laugh. “We couldn’t really afford that kinda vacation, we were lucky if we could talk dad into taking us down to Portland for a weekend. I’d love to go, though, and you make it sound fun as fuck.” He let his hand lazily fall over to stroke his knuckles against Toby’s skin. If Jai did have to come, at least he could keep busy in a big city like that. Ugh it was going to be so weird to try and explain.
Toby knew going to New York City was a splurge, but it’d been easier to manage when it was just him. Him, plus a little bit of gambling. Not a ton, but enough to cover gas, hotel, and ticket costs to whatever show he was dragging his friends to. “We should go sometime,” Toby said, goosebumps rising where Zach’s knuckles brushed his skin. “We can actually afford it now. We could even splurge a little if you wanted. I just require at least one big Broadway show. Other than that, you can drag me all over the city.” He didn’t need a full agenda, but was happy to go along with it if Zach had one. Mostly, he just liked the idea of going with him, even if it was probably much too soon. They were both adults; he figured they could do what they wanted.
It didn’t feel too soon to Zach, and it showed in his smile just how much he wanted to do that. Maybe he’d be able to talk Jai into a co-occurring vacation, if he didn’t want to come with them ... he could just so happen to be going to NYC at the same time? Ugh. Zach hated figuring out the details for things, he just wanted them to happen naturally and smoothly. “That sounds amazing, I’ve never been to a Broadway show. I mean, obviously, but even like ... what do they call it? Off-Broadway?” He gave a ponderous frown for a beat before he grinned again. “We definitely should, though. I can afford all kinds of trips now, I just never actually go anywhere.” For complicated magical reasons that he knew Toby would probably understand the mechanics of, but the permanence of it all was kind of daunting. Especially trying to think about a future together, which they probably shouldn’t be doing yet, but Zach still was. “Are you a theater gay? You totally are, aren’t you,” he accused playfully, beaming over at Toby.
“Oh, honey, I am totally a theater gay,” Toby grinned. “Have been since high school. Never grew out of it.” And despite it being a bit of a stereotype, Toby embraced it. He loved the theatrics of it all—the costumes, the makeup, the music and the sound. He’d have considered being an actor if it paid better, but instead it ended up a hobby, something he saw rather than engaged in himself. “Off-Broadway usually just means it’s a smaller production. You’re thinking of a touring Broadway show—the same one that’s on Broadway but moves locations every few weeks,” Toby explained. “Sadly, nothing comes to Point Pleasant, but that doesn’t mean we can’t hunt one down, go on a little road trip together. But first we have to learn the music, memorize the lyrics, and put on shows in your living room. We can even watch the movie first, if there is one. Some are pretty good. Some we should avoid like the plague.”
It made Zach smile even wider to listen to Toby explain it all. He wasn’t sure he would remember all that, but it was always fun to listen to someone talk about what they were passionate about. Again the idea of them traveling together put some nerves into his stomach, but they were just dreaming right now, and he didn’t want to throw a wrench into Toby’s enthusiasm at the moment. The sun was high and warming them up, Zach felt relaxed and happy, why ruin it with reality? “Man I had no idea that going to musicals required so much homework beforehand,” Zach laughed, trying to picture both of them putting on a whole production at the house. It would probably be a total delight. Zach was not one of those people who got embarrassed and self-conscious easily, he’d been through too much for that, and theater was fun. “Do you have a favorite show? Or is that a dumb question?”
“Okay, you don’t have to do all that, but it’s seriously more fun if you’re already familiar with the music, at least in my opinion, because otherwise it’s just an overload. You’re trying to follow the story and the lyrics and the music and the dancing and it’s just too much to take in at once!” Toby grinned, unable to stop rambling on a subject he truly adored. It was rare for him to see a show he hadn’t already researched these days, but he knew that wasn’t everyone’s thing. Some people liked to experience it all the first time. “Favorite is hard. It’s like picking a favorite child. Like, right now Hamilton is super hot and it is just fucking amazing,” he said in a sing-song voice. “But Rent hit me at just the right time of my life, has great queer representation, and will always have a place in my heart.”
“Oh if you had a bunch of kids, I’d definitely make you name a favorite too,” Zach assured him with a laugh, obviously teasing. He would never do that of course ... but he probably also wouldn’t be dating anyone with a bunch of kids. He felt completely Not Ready for any of that. Luckily both he and Toby were obligation-free aside from working. “I’ve heard good things about Hamilton,” he went on, smiling broadly. Toby was just fucking adorable when he was all fired up about something he loved. “And I’ve seen half of Rent! The movie, anyway, I didn’t walk out on the actual show or anything.” That seemed really rude, and not anything he would do. He’d just been super tired when he was watching Rent with some friends, and he’d dozed off. Which wasn’t anything against the movie, just him being dumb and staying up too late the night before. “So I’m gonna need you to like, take me to everything.”
Toby loved kids, but that didn’t mean he wanted any. Not now, at least, and maybe not ever. It felt like too big a responsibility to take on for the rest of his life, so he’d rather be the cool, fun uncle. He’d have less chance of fucking up a kid that way. “I haven’t actually seen Hamilton,” Toby admitted. “Tickets are still really hard to get, but I know all the music. Maybe I can drag you to it if I ever score tickets.” The prices were slowly going down, but he would have to nab them months out, and planning ahead wasn’t always his strong suit. Then again, if he used his abilities, he could probably make it happen. Sometimes he just forgot. “So, I love the movies for what they are, and for their ability to expose more people to the story and the music, but they just don’t compare to the real thing. Do you have anything you want to see? Wicked is fun too. That should be on our list.”
The world of musicals wasn’t one that Zach was very entrenched in, so his mind blanked out for a moment at the question. He gave a thoughtful hum and squinted one eye. He’d heard of Wicked, at least, and the premise sounded cool. “Wicked for sure, yeah ... oh! I wanna see Chicago sometime,” he said, grinning again. “That one looks super fun. And like, the campy-fun creepy ones like Sweeney Todd and Little Shop of Horrors. I dunno if those are still running anywhere, though.” Zach knew very little about how the theater really worked, so he was more than happy to just let Toby drag him around to stuff ... if it wasn’t too far away or for too long. He was still trying not to think much about that part, this was just fun dreaming between them. “I know New York is like, the best, but do you go to shows other places much?”
“We’ll have to check and see what’s playing. The older shows go on and off Broadway from time to time, or you can see them touring, or even with local casts,” Toby said, and he was already thinking that he needed to look at what was playing when he got home. They might not actually make a trip out of it, but it was fun to look and to plan, and maybe they’d see something a little closer to home than New York City. “I’ll see shows just about anywhere. I know I go on and on about musicals on Broadway, but I like the plays too. And there’s usually something going on in either Portland or Bangor. They’re smaller productions, usually, but still a lot of fun to go to. We could make a day trip out of it, if you were interested.”
“Yeah, of course I’m interested, that sounds amazing,” Zach said, the smile still plastered on his face. He already felt excited about it, even if it might take extra effort to make it work. They weren’t hopping in the car to go now, so this was all just hypothetical anyway, he could dream all he wanted. After a beat, he leaned in to kiss Toby -- it was a challenge to tame his grin to do so, but it felt entirely worth it as he savored those soft lips against his. Zach knew he was falling ridiculously hard for this man, and he was loving every moment of it. They both had complicated situations, but being together made it all feel so easy.
Toby smiled into the kiss, feeling in that moment like everything was wonderful and easy. He knew that wasn’t truly the case, that his life was complicated, as were both their situations, but it felt like they’d stepped into a safe little bubble where the outside world couldn’t bother them, at least for the moment. Toby was happy to stay there, and kept his powers stamped down lest they reveal some reason not to bask in this bliss. “So where would you take me, if you could take me anywhere?” Toby asked, enjoying the fantasy. He knew neither of them were going to run out and buy plane tickets, but it was nice to dream.
Zach’s smile was pure dreamy joy as he gazed at Toby’s face up close. He wanted to memorize every line and pore, the curves of his lips and nose, the way his eyes sparkled in the sunshine. It wasn’t so much out of worry anymore that it would all suddenly go away, it was all just so good, Zach wanted to keep every detail. “I don’t even know, I feel like I’ve barely been anywhere,” he admitted with a laugh, twitching one shoulder. “I’d just want to drag you along exploring with me. Like I’ve always wanted to see the west coast, and the Grand Canyon, all the cliche stuff ... but like, out of the country too. It’s just hard for me to like, get out and go. I dunno, I just think we’d have fun anywhere together.”
It was that kind of mushy talk that made Toby want to roll onto Zach and kiss him stupid, and he would have done that and more if they weren’t in such a public location. Of all the relationships he’d been in, no one had hooked him so thoroughly as Zach. It felt like true love and all that shit, even if he knew, logically, that it was too soon. If anything, it was infatuation, but even that felt good, so he was willing to go with it. “We should plan something. Like, seriously,” he grinned. “A fall road trip, even if it’s just a long weekend. There’s so much I want to see and do, and I want to see it with you.” Then he did kiss him, slowly, thoroughly, just in case Zach couldn’t read through the lines and see how much Toby adored him.
There was a riot of butterflies through Zach’s chest, and he felt like he could just melt into the towel underneath him as he kissed Toby back ... but a bit of anxiety churned his gut too. It felt like he’d already had too many ‘secret reveals’ with Toby, would another one be the last straw? Neither of them had a fully normal life -- whatever that meant anyway -- between Toby’s psychic ability and his past and Zach’s situationship with Jai and his transness ... it was already a lot. Zach wanted to think Toby would understand this too, but it was still scary. Because gods did he want that fall road trip. He put all of that yes into the kiss, too full of bliss to care about anybody else at the beach. Zach rested his hand against Toby’s chest and basked in that lovely feeling for as long as he could. “Now I wanna take you home,” he murmured once their lips parted, grinning faintly.
Toby hummed in agreement, his grin mirroring Zach’s. “We’ll get there eventually,” he said, resting his hand over Zach’s and threading their fingers together. “Once I get you in bed, I plan to stay there for a good, long while.” As tempted as he was to head back to Zach’s, or even his place, and spend the rest of the afternoon in bed, they had all night for that. There was still daylight to burn. “Maybe we lay out for another half hour at least, then go get some ice cream? There’s a new place I’ve heard good things about. Then maybe we can go back to your place or mine, order in, chill…” Fucking until they were both completely spent seemed a perfect way to end the day, but Toby wasn’t feeling crass enough to say it. He had the feeling Zach got the message anyways.
Zach knew exactly what he meant and it brought another bright grin to his face. He thought he could probably spend all day and night in bed with Toby ... but not everybody had his insatiable drive and stamina. There was joy in the anticipation anyway, and he never turned down ice cream. "Sounds perfect,” he murmured, his expression blissfully content. Zach stole one or two more kisses from his boyfriend, then rolled onto his back again and tucked both hands behind his head. The sun felt great, the company was perfect, he was in love ... it had already been an incredible day, and it was just going to get better. His final secret could wait, for now Zach just wanted to bask in this feeling.