Only Me When I'm With You [Casso]

[Shou Isamu Hiroaki]

It had been a weekly tradition for the two of them to meet after school since…well, Shou couldn’t really remember a time when they hadn’t met up. He found those times with his cousin to be quite relaxing, whether they spent the time talking or remained in companionable silence it didn’t matter—he enjoyed their time together regardless.

That was how her found himself here, lying back in the sand and gazing up at the setting sun while listening to the waves lap against the shore. It was peaceful, tranquil, and he found himself beginning to doze off while waiting for his cousin to arrive. The play islands were a safe little sanctuary to get away from the tourists and their obnoxious children because the only way to reach the island was to row out to it and, let’s face it, tourists were notoriously lazy and definitely wouldn’t have been up to the physical exertion that was necessary for getting to the island. In other words—this was a safe haven for any Islander who wanted to get away from the beach and boardwalk crowded with tourists.

The salty sea breeze tumbled over him, blowing sand from the very beach that he was lying upon all over him and tangling through his already messy chocolate locks. Shou didn’t particularly care for his appearance today since he figured that it was only his cousin that he was going to be with and he knew that Casso sure as hell didn’t care whether or not his hair was a windswept mess.

“Hmm, late as usual.” He mused quietly to himself, “I s’pose it’s a good thing that I didn’t have anything else planned for today.”

[/blockquote][/justify]

[Casso Hiroaki]

It was that island that it seemed was always empty. It was kind of funny seeing as only the children from the town where they lived even seemed to visit the place. More and more though it seemed all of their... well not really his but... old 'friends' didn't come to the island as often or at all. It was kind of sad really, this island was beautiful.

The male had been coming to this island for so long now it seemed like forever. Everyday after school he came here to meet Shou, always the last one there. It was often joked that he was late because of this by mostly Shou. It was their little teasing thing between cousins. Of course there was more beneath the surface but that was secret.

The blond teen smiled, the warm sun shining down upon his face as he walked down the dock. That was of course the only way onto the island... which is why tourists were a rarity here. It was all warm and fuzzy.. the feeling he got whenever he was on this island. So many fond memories, forbidden and not so forbidden. It was a place he had spent so much of his life after all. He took off his shoes as he hit the sand, wanting to feel the warmth of the sand beneath his feet. He had on those shorts and a rather baggy t-shirt that was grey with those blue sleeves.

Just down the way was Shou, the brown haired boy laying on the sand. A smile instantly came over his features, just as it seemed to do every time he saw the boy. Lets face it, Casso didn't really have any friends... Shou was pretty much all he had. It was kind of sad when you think about it, but for him Shou was more than enough. Casso tried his best to sneak up on his cousin, but of course he was... well not so good at it. He was not a ninja like his cousin was... in a non literally sense of course but that wasn't the point. "Sorry I'm late," he said when he was close enough for the boy to hear... like he could read minds... or they just knew each other that well.

[Shou Isamu Hiroaki]

Shou closed his eyes for a brief moment, his lips curving into a small smile, he felt so at peace out here—all school related stress had vanished in an instant as soon as he had stepped foot in the squishy sand, leaving behind the mainland and the people that irritated him on a daily basis. He wasn’t exactly nonsocial, he had a lot of friends and quite a few admirers but he tended to bury himself in his schoolwork and only concentrate on that and his cooking, rarely ever actually going out and socializing with the people who idolized him. It was a mystery how he remained as popular as he was despite the fact that he did nothing to actually deserve the attention.

He shook away those thoughts and focused on…nothing, nothing at all, clearing his mind of anything trivial and possibly stress-inducing to ensure that he remained calm and relaxed. It was like a non-written rule of the Play Island, you leave behind all of your troubles on the Mainland because this particular island was meant to be a stress-free place for the Islanders to come and just hang out and not have to worry about anything at all. It was a really nice concept, really, which was probably why he enjoyed coming here.

Shou carelessly peaked open an eye when he heard the sound of sand shifting beneath bare feet, curious, and hoping that it was his cousin finally deciding to join him on the beach. “Well look what the tide brought in! Did you get lost or what, man?” He didn’t bother to move from his position in the sand or sit up to greet the blond, instead he opted to remain a lazy bum, bringing his arm up to shield his eyes from the glaring sun and to grin up at his cousin.

[/justify]

[Casso Hiroaki]

Still a lazy bum as always. Well not really always... he was really good at the whole school thing unlike himself. It wasn't that Casso couldn't be top of his class he just didn't ever try and because of that he got average grades because he didn't put in much effort. That was for another time though, he had been doing better in school... but that was more because of a certain person's influence than anything else.

The warm salty air was amazing. You could smell the ocean like it was right next to you! Oh... wait... forget it. The older of the boys leaned over the younger, tilting his head as he just stayed there with his eyes closed. He looked kind of peaceful... but he was still sort of teasing the older boy. Casso let himself down gently onto his butt, his knees bent so they were closer to his chest. He looked over at his cousin, pouting, "I had to stay after school."

He looked over at the sky... it was so pretty. It was like this giant ocean in the sky, filled with so many stars that it was just about the burst. It was strange, this island was so strange. This was where the stories took place that Shou's grandfather had told them when they were all little... about the magic stuff and all that. They were amazing stories, though most of the grand-kids just thought he was blowing hot air... good hot air of course. I mean he could be a novelist with all those ideas! He was content though just laying there next to Shou.

[Shou Isamu Hiroaki]

The brunet hummed to himself in thought, taking a moment or two to examine the older boy—he would easily admit to himself and no one else that his family was made up of incredibly attractive people and Casso was no exception. Shou realized that having such thoughts about his own flesh and blood was a rather taboo area that probably should have never been accessed in the first place—but honestly, you couldn’t blame him for noticing the attractiveness of another regardless of whether they were related or not. Shou had never really been one of those boys who solely chased after girls, though to be quite fair he didn’t really pursue any form of relationship because he simply didn’t care for romantics—but either way, he found himself attracted to both men and women.

“Oh? Why am I not surprised?” He pushed himself up, leaning back on his elbows and casting a sideways glance to his cousin who had taken the space beside him, “What’d you do this time?” A sigh ghosted over his parted lips, though despite the semi-disappointment he felt towards his cousin at that moment he couldn’t help the smile that curved his lips upwards.

“Well I’m glad you finally made it. How was your day?” The ocean breeze ruffled through his hair once again, disheveling his hair even more than it already had been and causing his bangs to fall in his eyes, successfully obscuring his vision. Annoyed, Shou blew up at the offending strands…only to have them fall back to their previous position. He pouted cutely, irritated that the wind was having it’s way with him, making him look like he had sex hair.

“You know, if you need help with school work you could always ask mee—I’m always willing to lend a hand and help you out.” He said offhandedly, Shou knew that Casso already knew this but sometimes he felt the need to repeat himself because his cousin could sometimes be a little too proud to ask for help…

[/blockquote][/justify]

[Casso Hiroaki]

Unlike his cousin of course who had found himself attracted to both men and women, Casso was only attracted to one of those groups... and it wasn't the female variety. Well it was just something matter of fact about him... just like his... well that was another subject entirely. His entire family was full of beautiful people, but honestly if he were to choose one Shou would be the most attractive of them all... though he may be a little biased in that.

Casso stuck his tongue out at his cousin when he went into the disappointed tone. He hated that tone, not just how it sounded but every time he heard that tone it was like the world was being brought down and broken around him. It was like he had just killed a puppy or something... it kind of stung but he tried not to let it show with joking and teasing. That was how it worked.

"My art teacher wanted to submit some of my photos into the Photography competition," he said rather quietly, tilting his head to look at his cousin. Normally of course he was staying after school to talk about why he wasn't doing the best he could or some other bull crap like that. Honestly the teachers knew he could get straight As and a 4.0 but he didn't. There were few things in school he cared about.

How had his day been? "Well..." he said, trying not to blush a little when he heard that his cousin was glad he was here... it was kind of funny that way. He was still pretty much like a little 13 year old in that aspect. "Good, it's a nice day and I get to spend it was my favorite cousin," he said, smiling that dopey smile of his with his eyes shut as he did. His face relaxed into a content look after that... he was always happiest on this island.

He kind of laughed when Shou offered him again to get help with his homework. The boy closed his eyes,"We'd never get anything done... and it's not like I don't know the stuff..." he said drifting off in the middle of the sentence. He looked over to his cousin, that dopey smile plastered on his face. "What about you cuz? Been having a good day?" he asked his young cousin.

[Shou Isamu Hiroaki]

Shou pulled himself into a sitting position, extinguishing the lazy attitude that he’d been exuding and, instead, angling his face to the side in an excited manner while smiling brightly. That particular smile was reserved solely for Casso whenever they were together, a warm and inviting quirk of the lips that showed just the right amount of pearly whites. “Oh really? That’s great, Cass. I’m very proud of you.” His cousin was, in his own opinion, incredibly artistic and had an eye for capturing dazzling sceneries and precious moments through the lens of a camera.

After issuing his cousin the compliment he stretched out his legs and leaned back on his outstretched hands, tilting his head back and staring up at the wide expanse of sky—admiring the colors as they shifted from pretty pastels into a dark navy. When he was a lot younger he remembered venturing out here whenever his parents fought and just lying out on the beach stargazing. Of course, when his parents had noticed his absence they hadn’t been too happy with him but he found the tranquility of the beach at night to be far more pleasant than listening to his parents arguing. Since then he made a point to take the time to come out here whenever he felt particularly stressed out, the sounds of the ocean coupled with stargazing had a calming effect on him that never seemed to fail.

His lips curved into a slight smirk, “Well you better not let our other cousins hear you say that, they might get jealous.” Shou loved everyone in his family, but it was only natural that he’d have a favorite family member and out of his entire family Casso was his favorite, excluding his grandfather of course.

”We’d never get anything done? Speak for yourself. I, for one, am an excellent teacher and would definitely crack down and make sure that you get your work done. There will be no tomfoolery on my watch!” hehe, he said tomfoolery. What his cousin had said could’ve been taken two different ways, considering their relationship with each other, but he opted for taking the more innocent route and assuming that Casso had meant that the two of them together would mean goofing-off rather than any actual work getting done.

“Hm. Well I can’t complain, really. School’s a bore, it’s not challenging enough and I’ve finished all my class work for the week.” Call him an overachiever but he liked to finish things ahead of schedule and hand them in early so that he didn’t have to worry about getting them finished later on.

[/justify]

[Casso Hiroaki]

Shou was proud of him. That was enough, that was all that mattered. I mean not all that mattered because eating and sleeping mattered too but that was something else entirely. "I'm not sure if I'm going to enter though," he said, turning his head back to the ocean. It was so pretty and blue. It was that crystal clear pale blue color for like twenty feet from the short where you could easily see anything that moved. Such was the magic of the ocean here. It was clean, pure, untouched... for now.

"I know one who might be jealous," he teased, sticking his tongue out. He was of course referring to a certain female cousin of theirs. He had to admit it was kind of cute, but she was cute so that might be why. Casso couldn't help but laugh as Shou answered the never getting anything done speech. He of course had meant the innocent option unfortunately of the two. "Tomfoolery?" he said with a sort of gigglesnort... I mean who says tomfoolery? He clasped his hands to his mouth after it had escaped, flushing red a little. Gigglesnorting... well wasn't that just so... adorable?

"You would," he said rolling his eyes at his cousin having already done all of his homework for the week. overachiever is a correct term for Shou. Then again Shou was probably the smartest person he knew, sure he was no slouch himself but there was a big difference when it came to school. Shou was very punctual, always turned everything either on time or ahead of time while Casso only turned in enough to skate through with Cs and the occasional B. Of course Art Classes were a different story but that was because he actually liked art.

I mean of course he liked art. After all he didn't really have friends so that is what he did during lunch, stay in the art room and work on projects for class or even for himself. He laughed a little to himself, turning to his cousin smiling. "You couldn't stand being late with anything, you'd probably explode," he said even making a little hand motion of an explosion and adding the sound effect of a boom. Well... that was fun.

[Shou Isamu Hiroaki]

He felt his jaw drop in shock at the revelation. Why on earth would Casso not want to enter? His photography skills were extraordinary, unbeatable, and incredibly unique and creative and Shou couldn’t fathom why his cousin wouldn’t want to showcase his talent for the rest of the island—perhaps even the world to see! “I can almost guarantee that you’ll win if you enter.” He muttered before angling his head to get a better view of the blond boy, “So tell me why you’d have doubts about entering, Cass.”

The brunet shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly, sitting up and leaning towards his cousin, occupying the blond’s personal space, “Oh? I have a decent idea of who you’re talking about and if that’s the case then what she doesn’t know won’t hurt her, right?” Shou, of course, would never do anything to hurt anyone in his family—especially not his cute little cousin, Onbin, who adored him.

His brows furrowed, creating a crease on his forehead as he contemplated Casso’s amusement, “What’s so funny?” Shou scooted closer to his cousin, his face hovering a mere inch or two away from Casso’s, staring curiously into the other boy’s eyes, awaiting an answer. He wasn’t concerned with possibly infiltrating the blond’s personal bubble due to the fact that they had a close relationship and silly things like that simply didn’t bother either of them.

“I feel as if you’re mocking me—but at the same time you’re right. I’d much rather be early than late, unlike someone I know.” He quirked an amused brow, giving his cousin a pointed stare.

[/justify][/blockquote]

[Casso Hiroaki]

The praise was always flattering, always wonderful when coming from Shou. Maybe that was part of the reason he was unsure, he did always enjoy the attention he got from his cousin that other people didn't get. Was it selfish of him? Maybe. Did he care? Maybe a little bit but most of the time he didn't care. Shou was enough reason to do pretty much anything. "I don't know... I just," he started, his eyes looking up at the sky,"I feel like I should be doing something more with my life... contests don't really matter to me."

He looked over at his cousin again, a smile on his face. The other boy was invading his personal space, something he didn't mind from Shou nor his little female cousin. Actually those were pretty much the only two people he didn't mind if they got close to him and actually you know hugged him or touched him. He wasn't very good with contact from other people, shying away from it. [color-blue]"I know... sometimes I just feel like I'm lying to her ya know?"

[/color]he said, sounding unsure. "Nevermind, forget it. Lets talk about something happier," he said, sticking his tongue out at Shou. He giggled a little, a light chuckle would probably be a better word for it.

He couldn't help but laugh at his cousin. He did the whole fake shocked who could you be talking about gasp. "Whoever could you be talking about? I bet you like him more than me," he said jokingly. He grinned, sticking his tongue out again at his cousin. It was fun just sitting... well more like laying... here talking to his cousin. All they were missing was a stroll on the beach during the moonlight holding hands after a candle lit dinner. Oh... wait... that was totally not what he was imaging. Someone more along the lines of just laying on the beach together was closer to a perfect day for him. He really wished they could just stay like this and nothing would change... but of course things would change quite quickly soon. He could do nothing to stop it. [/blockquote]