Bryn frowned, pulling away from the water's edge to wander over to where Zack was standing. He wrapped one of his arms around Zack's the way he'd liked before, looking up at him worriedly. Something was wrong. "I won't have any fun without you," he said, pushing a little closer. "Can't you come in with me? I promise I won't tease or be rude, not if this is something that's important."
Zack quite liked his jeans and flannel, but he’d do it for Bryn. It was important to him. He nodded a little, rather begrudgingly but still going to take off his jacket and pants, then taking off his shirt and feeling distinctly awkward about the whole thing. He had scars here and there (mostly on his arms), but he wasn’t unpleasant to look at. He had a nice, almost womanly pair of hips and legs and a thinner chest.
Bryn took Zack in for a moment before he grabbed his arms and slowly but firmly led him into the water. He was determined to prove to Zack that he had nothing to worry about. To prove that this didn't change anything about the way Bryn felt for him. Because it really didn't. Zack was beautiful, with or without scars. "I think you look perfectly nice," he said, ushering Zack into deeper water. "Now let me hop up on your shoulders."
He let Bryn lead him into the lake, and he sunk into the water so his ears were still poking out and he could still see the Human. He floated up a little and tilted his head.
“My shoulders? What are you going to do up there?” He tried stalling as much as possible before he had to suffer with Bryn’s thighs right next to his head. He emerged a little anyway, showing his shoulders and letting the other climb on whenever he was ready. Cus Zack sure as hell wasn’t.
Bryn approached slowly and scrambled up Zack's back, trying his hardest to sit down on his shoulders without much success. Zack was too damn tall. "I'm going to have fun," He said, failing another attempt. He tapped on Zack's shoulder to get his attention. "Can you duck a little lower? I can't reach."
Zack was already relatively dunked into the water, but he ducked a little bit more. He didn’t feel too tall at five foot eleven, but apparently it mattered to Bryn, who was a little small boi.
“What type of fun?” He asked as he tried to ignore the flying skin of Bryn.
Bryn finally managed to seat himself on Zack's shoulders, patting him on the head to let him know he was on. He squealed happily when Zack stood up all the way, arms windmilling as he tried to keep his balance and a smile full of childlike glee on his face. "The best kind! It's nice to get carried around, especially when you trust the person carrying you. Now go over to the other side of the lake!"
Zack had to sit up a bit more so Bryn’s weight didn’t push him down into the water. He looked up at him as he drew windmills in the air, grinning a little. “Mm. Okay…” He moved across the lake with slow treads, walking steadily along the shallower part of the lake. He paused at the other shore once he made it, looking up again.
“Okay, What now?”
Bryn clenched his thighs around Zacks's head to keep from falling off, reaching down to grope around for one of his hands. He held it tightly as Zack walked him around, wobbly. Once they were still he brushed some of the hair from Zack's face, smiling down at him joyfully. "Throw me!!"
“Throw you?” Zack asked exasperatedly. “How the hell am I supposed to do that?” He looked up at the Human, whose thighs were still clenched hard around his face and neck. His hands were also up helping support him so Bryn didn’t squeeze his head off of his body.
Bryn loosened his death grip on Zack's head, scooting back a little so he could lift his thighs to toss him backward. He was still clutching at one of Zack's hands to keep his balance. "Use my thighs. You're really strong, I know you can do it."
“I know I can, but I don’t want to,” He snarked, looking up at him with genuinely concerned eyes. “What if you drown or something?” He’d be strong enough to lift him back up (easily) but he didn’t want to
Oh. That was… new. And sweet. Bryn decided he liked it when Zack worried about him, if only because it showed that he cared. He scooted forward on his shoulders, no longer about to tip off, and petted his hair soothingly. "I've been swimming for half my life, big guy. I'll be okay, I promise."
Zack resisted to shut his eyes and purr at the head pats, finding he quite liked those, too. “I’m not that big, Bryn, you’re just small.” He sunk down slowly into the water again, relaxing as his whole body was hidden. Bryn looked like he was levitating off the water.
Bryn tangled his hands carefully into Zack's hair as he sank down, trying and failing to keep from smiling when Zack called him small. He liked being the size he was, it made cuddling and stealing clothes so much easier. Plus he could do things like climb up onto shoulders or get carried around, both of which made him giddy with excitement. "Am not, I'm average. You're just a fucking beanpole who never bothered to pay attention to how tall people are."
“Nu-uh, you are small. I am average,” He huffed softly as he moved around slowly with the other on his shoulders, really wanting to swim around and maybe dunk the Human in without him knowing it. “I’m not no beanpole,” He growled to himself, feeling particularly hungry as he drifted.
Bryn had stopped holding on so tight, trusting Zack to support him as they drifted. He was lazily playing with Zack's hair as they chatted, feeling better than he had in a while. He'd been so worried he'd finally fucked things up after the painting incident, but it turned out Zack still wanted him around for some unimaginable reason. Not that he was complaining, he thought, leaning a little closer. "Lies. I'm 5'7", that's normal person height, and you're at least four or five inches taller than me."
Zack huffed softly as he went to relax on the bank, helping Bryn off of his shoulders before leaning on the slightly rocky wall of the clear lake.
“I’m four inches taller, then.” He looked slightly exasperated but he was having a nice time nevertheless. He smiled a little at the Human, who looked ready to explode with happiness. “You look so happy, you know.”
Bryn practically beamed when Zack conceded, sticking close even when his feet were on solid ground. He blushed lightly when Zack said he looked, realizing that he really was. Zack made him happy. Fucking Zack, with his grumpy smiles and his ugly flannels. It was unbelievable. "That's because I am happy, you dork."
Zack leaned his weight on the wall completely in this nonchalant way that only Zack could pull off as he watched Bryn try to shake off the embarrassment from being called cute. He smiled a little, despite his exasperated eyes.
“Mhm. Dork. I’m the dork.”
Bryn's blush got a little hotter when Zack did the whole 'I'm super cool and I can lean against walls and not look like a total idiot' thing because his crush was getting harder and harder to manage and Zack looked amazing from this angle. "Yep, thanks for agreeing with me. You're the dork."
Zack didn't do it on purpose or to look cool unlike some people thought (👀) but rather to rest his back against something, because it was still hurting from sleeping on it weird.
“I’m the dork,” He hummed, not sounding convinced at all.
Bryn laughed, leaning against the wall next to him. He looked completely at ease and self-conscious at the same time, hands fidgeting and eyes playfull. "Your words say yes, but your tone says no. Which is it, Zack? You'll give a guy whiplash with all those mixed signals."
Zack glanced down at him and threw an arm around his shoulders, leaning back a bit more with a soft noise at the relief from his back.
“I feel like you know how to read me. But you’re bad at it,” He just hummed, smiling. “Maybe you could get better starting now. I was being sarcastic. I’m not the nerd. Clearly you are.”
"I'm playfully bad at it," Bryn corrected, trying to covertly lean into his touch without looking like he wanted to in case it would scare Zack off. "Also no I'm not! The last thing I am is nerdy."
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