Oof, Ouch, Hot

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Cherry's POV

"So, the Summer Solstice isn't the sunniest and hottest day of the month in San Fransokyo?" I confirm to Gogo as the six of us plus a big cooler full of food and drink walk to San Fransokyo Park.
"That's right," Gogo replies, looking forward so she can dodge the holes in the ground dug for new trees, "it's normally sometime in early October because we're so far away from the equator.
I narrow my eyes in confusion. "So far away that... it takes, like, at least three months to get to us?"

"Look, I don't make the rules of the sun!" my friend explodes, causing Honey Lemon to pat her shoulder companiably. I put my hands up in surrender with a defensive look on my face, and edge backwards to steer away from the possible oncoming storm. Instead I join up with Wasabi, who's carrying the big cooler because his arms are big.

He beams at me like a child at Christmas. "I can't wait to lie down in the sun and take a nap on the hottest day of the year. It'll feel so lovely, just me and the warmth of the world-"
"Not to mention the unfortunate sunburns you get each time you try," Tadashi points out on the other side of him, chuckling a little, and Wasabi rolls his eyes and holds a finger to my boyfriend's face.
"Ah, ah, ah - not this time. For this time, I have finally found my Excalibur. My Bat-thing. My Holy Grail. My-"

"What is it though?" Tadashi asks, and with a flourish our he whips out of his shorts pocket a medium size tube. I ask to look closer and he hands it to me proudly, like a mother who has just given birth to a rad kid. I peer closer at the details - the most important thing in the world is details.
"Aloe Vera Infused Suntan Lotion, SPF 100. Damn Wasabi," I say, impressed, as I hand it back to him and he puts it back in his pocket, "how did you find SPF 100?"
"Oh, I have my contacts," his eyes sparkle, then we hear Fred exclaim and all six of us look forward.

My mouth drops open in awe. I've only been to San Fransokyo Park twice, both times only with Tadashi to talk privately, but I've never seen it this lush: despite the late month, the cherry blossom trees are blooming flowers like it's Springtime;

I unconsciously push through Gogo and Honey, marvelling at the beauty of the place.
"Wow," I breathe, barely able to form a coherent word because this place is taking my breath away.
I feel a hand on my shoulder, and without looking away from the slats of sun breaking through the tallest trees I know it's Tadashi.
"I know. I come here every sunniest day of the year. It's magical."
I nod, mesmerized, and I feel Tadashi gently pushing me by my upper back to wherever we're all going.

We stop under a small tree, just big enough to have the six of us fanned out around the tree in its shade and sun, and Wasabi sets down the cooler and opens it to get himself a bottle of water.
Gogo rolls her eyes. "Gee, thanks for giving us anything," she says sarcastically, so he throws her a lemonade can and settles down in the shade of the tree. Honey Lemon sits next to him and brings out a book, adjusting her glasses to read better in the absurd brightness; Gogo and Fred both roll out yoga mats as substitute loungers and fish out suntan lotion bottles - brought at Honey's request, naturally - and start to help each other rub it into their backs where they can't reach. Wasabi shifts to do the same.
"Haven't you already put some on, Wasabi?"
"Tadashi, you can never have on enough suntan lotion," our friend smiles to himself as he rubs yet more cream into his exposed dark skin, ensuring maximum protection.

Tadashi himself sits next to Honey, moving every so often from one buttcheek to another in order to find the most comfortable spot. In his hands he's got an almanac borrowed from the SFIT library, and he's concentrating on it so hard there are tiny horizontal lines forming on his smooth forehead.

I find I don't like them, because they make him look older than he is, so I reach out two fingers to smooth his forehead out and my boyfriend looks up at me with a laughing smile on his face and an eyebrow raised, a trait he has expertly learned off me.
"Uhh, what are you doing?" he asks with a glint in his eye, and I whip my hand away because I know that voice and glint means he is ready for some PDA, and I never am - I'd rather nobody saw me let down my walls and I just kiss my lover behind closed doors so nobody judges me.
I shrug and say, "Nothing," before quickly taking out a textbook from my worn backpack and diving onto the grass on my belly in an effort to hide my embarrassment. If this boy continues to be adorable, I'm gonna have to blush in public at some point, and I do not want that. That's going to far.

I find the grass is actually quite comfortable, and very tickly but in a good way, and I wiggle around a bit to find the best place then open the book.
In the warm and enveloping bright sun, I soon unfocus from the words and lower my eyes to fall into a short sleep fueled by the sleepy rays emitting. The textbook falls out of one hand, the other one managing to wedge a thumb between the pages I was reading, and my head slowly falls to the ground and I am dead to the world for however long it is until the rest wake me up.

"Cherry! Hey, Cherry, wake up!"
I scrunch up my eyes, not wanting to open my eyes so soon, and blink with my eyes still closed and gradually open them. The other five of my group aren't packed up as I thought they would be, but are instead staring at me with concern.
I narrow my bleary eyes. Why are people concerned about me? That makes no sense.

I peer at Wasabi, the one who woke me. "What is it?" I ask a little sleepily, and everyone slowly turns to Tadashi, whom I'm assuming is the bearer of some bad news.
He leans down to me and helps me up from lying down to sitting up, and bites his lips whilst staring at my stomach. Behind him I can see Gogo and Fred holding in laughter for some reason, getting stronger each time they look at me, and with low eyebrows and an unamused expression I turn to my boyfriend and say deadpan, "What happened?"

Tadashi bites his bottom lip with his front teeth as he looks down at me again, then meets me eyes and says delicately, "Cherry... did you remember to bring sunscreen?"

I look away from him down to my body, and my mouth falls open.

Everything. Is. Pink.

My skin is pink from sunburn. I forgot to put on suntan lotion, and now apart from my boobs and ass I look like a lobster. And it didn't help that I drifted off on my front either: it looks as if I somehow got equal amounts of sunburn on both sides of me, which unfairly makes no sense.

Tadashi isn't laughing, but I can tell he's biting his lips because he's trying his best not to. Gogo and Fred can't even try as they burst with laughter as soon as I look at them with a done expression on my face. At least Honey Lemon has to grace to look worried, although Wasabi may be the same if his face wasn't buried in the cooler trying to find something.

He eventually brings something out, something that looks like suntan lotion but more translucent, and shakes it at me like a tambourine.
"Aftersun lotion. That might help bring down the stinging."
"What stinging?" I ask, but my questions are answered as soon as I gently poke my flushed arm and wince.

Tadashi drags his hand over his face, offering a corner smile before telling me, "Hold out your arms." I do as I'm told because I am not one to go outside and enjoy the sun, and he takes the bottle off Wasabi and squirts some clear thick liquid onto my arm. Instantly those points feels cooler, and as he rubs the lotion into my skin I feel again closer to him. I smile at him gratefully. I should be more nice to him: stuff like romantic gestures, more kisses to let him know I like them, telling him I love him whenever I see him. He does that last thing almost every day, whenever we see each other, and it might be cute to take a page out of his book.

But right now, I think I'm fine to just go home and stay inside and not leave for the human world until my skin is of normal light brown instead of pink.

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