Chapter 54: Chapter 54

It was a sunny day at the apartment building’s communal pool. Caked in so much sunscreen that it was the only thing he could smell, Sun Fang laid on a inflated mattress that drifted on top of the water, sipping slowly at a bottle of cold, sparkling soda. His eyes were half-lidded behind the diamond-studded sunglasses, his nose wrinkling slightly when somebody got a little too enthusiastic near him and he was splashed by the water.

He drifted across the pool, tiny little things wedged in his ears that belted out music right at him. Right now, it was some kind of rock song; very loud and with a quick rhythm. His finger patted the mattress in time with the beat, his long nails gently scratching at it. 

Ivy was standing by Sun Fan’s beach chair, waiting in the shade. Sun Fang sipped from the straw again, letting the cool liquid flow through his throat and pool in his stomach, the peculiar feeling of coldness spreading inside him from it. His lips quirked up into a smile, and he waved cheerfully at Ivy. Ivy waved back, expressionless.

Sun Fang snorted, inadvertently blowing air down the straw. 

For another hour, he let the time pass him by, just going with the literal flow. The mattress floated this way and that, the sun beating down on him relentless, like giant rays of death. It if wasn’t for the super-grade (unique to Guillotine) sunscreen that he’d been slathered in, he had no doubt he’d be bright pink by the time he left the pool.

The music switched to dozens of different songs over the time, his head bobbing to it occasionally when a particularly catchy on came on. At one point, he drifted passed the point where Ivy was and he took the opportunity to hand off his empty soda bottle.

When he finally got off the mattress and submerged himself in the warm water, he held his breath as he stayed below the surface for as long as he could. Eventually, he emerged from the darker depths and drew in a large lung-full of air. Hie pushed his long hair out of his face, swimming to the edge where Ivy was. 

”Time to get out?” Ivy asked, not moving at all.

Sun Fang laughed, his voice soft as he said, ”I fear I’ll burn up in the heat if I don’t.” 

Straining his muscles, he hang onto the edge and pulled himself out of the water, his hair clinging to his upper body as he did so. Maybe if was time to cut his hair? It was really long, and it’d only gotten longer. Right now, he wondered if perhaps it was time for a change. He bet if he cut it just above the shoulders, he’d still look absolutely amazing.

He huffed when he stood up straight, walking over to Ivy and gratefully grabbing the bathrobe Ivy held out to him. He smiled at his butler, dropping down on the beach chair. ”What were you doing while I was in the pool?” he asked, a burst of curiosity striking him.

”Running a system check to make sure all my systems are in order,” Ivy promptly responded, not a single inflection in its voice. 

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Sun Fang hummed. He laid down properly on the beach chair and placed his head on the soft pillow. The hair was still clinging to him, the strands wetting the chair below him. It was a little uncomfortable, but the cold was still welcome. ”And are they?” he asked Ivy, turning his head to look at it.

”Yes, everything is in tiptop shape,” Ivy said.

Sun Fang’s eyes widened and he coughed. ”Ah, yes, that’s good,” he said, shoving down his laughter. There was just something about Ivy saying tiptop in that steady, calm voice that made him snort, something about it striking him right in the chest.

Ivy’s lips twitched, a tiny motion that nonetheless made Sun Fang smile brightly. He turned his head to look straight up again and closed his eyes, secure in the knowledge that he was lying in the shade and probably didn’t need to reapply his sunscreen. The music was at a much lower volume now, the notes not nearly as all-encompassing. Sun Fang hummed along with the song, his voice quiet as he enjoyed the rest.

Some time later, Ivy put another cold bottle of soda next to him on the beach chair, the cold shocking him out of his semi-meditative state. Sun Fang’s eyes peeked open and he furrowed his eyebrows. ”You need to drink so you don’t get dehydrated,” Ivy merely said, ignoring Sun Fang’s look entirely.

Sun Fang grabbed the bottle and put the straw in his mouth, sipping slowly at it. When he’d drunk nearly half the bottle in one very slow go, he said around the straw, voice amused, ”I’m pretty sure you’re supposed to recommend plain water if you think there’s a chance of me becoming dehydrated.”

”I will go get you a bottle of plain water,” Ivy agreed, turning around to leave.

”Wait, no!” Sun Fang sat up straight, leaning out to grab a hold of Ivy. He failed, Ivy was already too far away, but Ivy did stop walking. Pouting, Sun Fang said, ”It’s too late now. I just meant, you know, in general.”

Ivy thankfully turned back and returned to standing next to him. ”You should be more clear in your instructions, Young Master,” Ivy said, its eyes calm and steady. ”I am only an android, and have difficulties judging when you are joking and being serious.”

Sun Fang’s eyes narrowed. He scoffed. ”I’m not falling for that again, I’m not twenty anymore,” he promised, huffing exaggeratedly. Ivy only raised an eyebrow and that was—that was Sun Fang’s expression. Ivy was copying him! Ivy was copying his judgmental expression and using it against him. 

…Sun Fang was so proud. A good judgmental expression to accurately convey doubt in a condescending manner was something every person needed, in his opinion.