Summary: For Summer, going to the Outer Banks is like coming home. The sound of the sea, the sand beneath her feet, the giddy feeling of a new adventure, the escape from what they say she is or should be. But what happens when the company of an old friend starts to make her feel…different?
Disclaimer: Summer Fallis belongs to @unknown-axxount, Beatrice Routledge belongs to me, other characters belong to the OBX series
Content warning(?): SFW, Soft Yearning, mixed feelings, 🤨🏳️🌈, dense Bee, platonic crush + slow and late realization
The camera was charged, extra memory card in the case. At the first opportunity she said goodbye with a quick wave to her parents, heard a half-questioning from her siblings, rolled her eyes and left.
Seashells, hermit crabs and wildflowers were definitely not what she wanted to capture. The Pogues must still be working, so the shore was still full of tourists, maybe one or two scattered around. Today's vlog wasn't as interesting as she'd hoped, not interesting at all, but a loud, unmistakable laugh caught her eye and brought a smile to her lips. Princess Pogue, Outer Banks' biggest source of drama, surrounded by people, sat on the sand laughing at some probably lame joke.
"Summie!"
Bee stood up and waved. Summer couldn't help but smile. No matter what happened, the young Routledge girl's reception was always the same. She said goodbye to the group and (skipped) walked towards her. One of those awkward moments where you don't know whether to wait for the person to arrive or find them in the middle of it all. It felt like the sand had sucked her feet in. So she did the most natural thing she could and took a picture. Casual, the brunette girl smiling at her, her hair tousled by the wind as usual. It came out blurry.
Bee grabbed her, rocking both of them in a close embrace. She smelled of sea and wind and…passion fruit?
"You live here now, huh?" Bee smiles, stepping back to look at her, holding her shoulders.
"Is this you sending me away?"
"How sensitive!" – She grimaces – "How are you? How long are you staying this time?"
"Oh my God, so you do want me to go!" Summer exclaims, raising her eyebrows and placing a hand over her chest, feigning offense.
“Of course I want you to stay, you idiot. I was just surprised. You never let me know anything.”
“It’s more fun to show up unexpectedly,” Summer replies, adjusting the camera to hide her silly smile. “This place… you guys… are always worth it.”
Bee smiles, and the monotony of the day vanished as quickly as it seemed.
She just takes her hand and starts dragging her across the sand as if they hadn’t been apart for months.
“We could go to the docks! Actually, I got the keys to the boat. We could go for a ride before my brother gets back.”
“Bee! I literally just arrived.”
“So what?” Bee shrugs, smiling. “I’m excited.”
Bee is like that with everyone. Bee hugs everyone. Bee calls everyone.
But with her… it seemed different. Or maybe she was just imagining it.
“I missed you,” she says suddenly, as if commenting on the weather.
Summer presses the camera against her chest.
She was lost. “Me too,” she replies softly.
Bee lights up completely, like the midday sun itself. “Seriously, a lot has happened even though it’s only been a few months. I’ll tell you everything. Let’s go!” Bee insists, already walking backwards, smiling in that way that always disarms her. “You can record everything. It’ll look great on your vlog, I promise.”
Summer pretends to adjust the camera to hide the blush on her face.
“You promise, huh?”
Bee nods, serious for exactly half a second.
“I promise. I would never lie to you.” She says it naturally, without drama, like breathing. But the sentence hits Summer like a wave of cold and heat at the same time.
“Bee…” Summer tries to say something intelligent, or at least something that doesn’t give her away completely, but Bee is already turning her face to the sea, taking a breath to say everything at once. “You won’t believe what Kie did. And JJ? I won’t even tell you. And- actually, I will tell you. But first…”
She squeezes Summer’s hand. Strong. Firm. Warm.
“…Thank you for coming.”
Summer looks at their intertwined hands, at Bee, radiant and completely unaware of the effect she has. Of how her touch makes everything seem sharper. Of how her smile makes the world seem smaller and easier.
“I always come,” she murmurs. “I’ll always come.”
Bee doesn’t realize the weight of it. She just smiles even more, as if it were obvious.
“Then let’s go before John B shows up and wants to come along. Today you’re mine.”
Summer swallows hard, her heart stumbling.
“Yes. Today… I’m yours.”
AN.: Hello friends! It's my first time writing for someone else. I just wanted to say that I am very happy to do it. I know it's short but life has been crazy and I really wanted to make it cute and soft. I hope you liked it 💕
