"WAKE UP YOU LAZY SHITHEADS!"

What the actual hell. I was sleeping so well.

"Hope you got your beauty sleep 'cause I know you guys need it!" The overhead light flicks on in harsh punctuation and I squeeze my eyes shut further.

"Shut uuuuup!" I moan into my pillow. Who is this ray of fucking sunshine, and why are they here?

Thwack! A pillow collides with my shoulder, and something next to me stirs.

"Go awayyy, Ronan!" A scratchy voice calls out nearby, accompanied by more movement underneath my arms.

Another thwack, this time from the direction of Jaspers bed, and sure enough I hear him curse Ronan out.

Wait, if Ronan is the annoying culprit and Jasper's over in his bed, then who was that other voice?

I peel my sleep-crusted eyes open and go to turn over until I notice the blonde mess of hair directly in my vision. Moving my arms confirms my suspicions and last nights memory floods back:

Kal was out like a light during the movie. One moment I was hitting play as he laid his head on me, and the next thing I knew there were soft snores in my ear. After that was a tired blur. I was already fighting off sleep, so I remember making the lazy choice and just pulled Kal up to sleep in bed with me again instead of forcing him back to his room.

It turned out to be a good decision as we both slept great and I didn't need to worry about him freezing up in the middle of the night. Win-win.

But of course, Ronan has to bust in and break up our cozy cuddle party.

He better have a good reason.

I let out the most purposefully annoyed groan I can muster as I pull away from Kal to lean up on my elbows. Ronan stands menacingly in the center of the room with his hands on his hips and a pillow still clutched in his grasp.

"What, Ronan!? What could you possibly want that would warrant this kind of torture? I swear I'm so tempted to burn you at the stake right now."

"Aww, sowwy," he coos. "Did I interrupt something? Well, TOO BAD! Get up, we're going to sunrise yoga."

Kal and Jasper both let out a string of incomprehensible moans and groans, and I'm about to flop down and go back to bed when Ronan reaches down and yanks Kal's comforter right off us.

"Up! You too Jaspy-Poo!" He rips Jasper's off as well.

Devoid of his comfort, Kal finally joins the awake world and rolls over to pout at Ronan. "I have a cold, I don't want to do yoga right now, Ro...," he gives the fakest of fake coughs.

"Aww, sowwy," he repeats. "TOO BAD! Plus, you're fine. You know as well as I do that you recover just as quick as you get sick. Getting some exercise and fresh air would be good for you."

Kal sighs and sits up next to me. "Fine. I reluctantly admit you're maybe, kinda, probably right. I do usually feel better after yoga, just in general, anyway."

"Nope. Count me out." Jas pipes up before burying his head in his pillow like a frickin' ostrich.

He stood no chance.

Ronan marches over, bends down, bear hugs him, and lifts him right out of his nice soft bed.

"WHATTHEFUGALOOSNSMSVRH!!!"

Ronan just gently sets the now-flailing Jasper on his feet... without breaking a sweat or even losing his cool.

Yeah. Ronan definitely scares me.

⋯━━━━━⋯ ☼ ☽ ☼ ⋯━━━━━⋯

I run a hand through my unruly bedhead and trudge through the dew-coated grass.

The puffy clouds above us are awash with pastel light, just beginning to reflect the rising sun.

Yes, Ronan certainly got an earful on the car ride over to the park about how he woke us up before the sun had even risen. The nerve of some people.

It is pretty though.

Crisp morning air fills my lungs, while bird songs fill my ears. My eyes, however, are focused solely on Kal's perky, round ass ahead of me, perfectly showcased in the tight athletic joggers he threw on before we left.

I opted for my usual running shorts, and I'm glad of it since the humid morning promises for yet another hot day. But for now, it's mild and gentle and full of the eagerness oozing off Ronan and Kal.

Not as much so for Jasper and I, especially as we round the corner of bushes and get a full view of the set-up:

Yoga mats lay neatly in rows and columns with our two limber instructors at front stage. The first looks to be meditating, all eyes-closed-hands-on-knees-pose, with a big stone necklace sitting heavy on his bare chest and dreadlocks piled high on their head. The second, doing enthusiastic stretches, is middle-aged and soccer-mom-esque, complete with a blonde ponytail, matching sports bra/capris, and smartwatch she keeps glancing at.

I hold back an amused grunt—can you get any more cliché? Seriously? I'm not usually one to stereotype, but the legit two extremes of yoga just so happen to be our instructors? It's comical, really.

I move past the instructors to notice the others that have gathered. Each claimed yoga mat around us has two participants sitting or standing on them while they chat and stretch.

Wait.

Yeah, that's correct: two people on each mat. As well as two instructors, who are also sharing a mat.

Jasper must've noticed at the same moment as I did since his steps suddenly falter next to me. "Ronan," he starts tentatively, "isn't yoga done individually?"

Ronan peers over his shoulder at us. "Usually, yes. But not partner yoga." His smirk is laced with venom.

"You brought us to couples yoga?!," Jas grits through his teeth.

"It was the only thing going on at sunrise this morning, and it's no different than regular yoga, you just have a partner to help each other."

"Kal... why have you betrayed us?" Jasper turns pleading eyes to the only other person who wanted to come.

But Kal just holds his hands up as he fails to stop a giggle. "I had no idea! Don't blame this on me." He lets out another chuckle at Jasper's flustered responses.

Jasper finally looks to me as the other two walk ahead to claim mats. His eyes are wide and cheeks flushed. "Oh gods, what have we gotten ourselves into?"

"I've got no clue, my friend. No clue."

⋯━━━━━⋯ ☼ ☽ ☼ ⋯━━━━━⋯

"Ok everyone, sit back to back with your partner in lotus pose. Straight backs, deep breaths. I want you to feel your partner breathing. In, out... in, out. Good. Now match your breathing with theirs so you're in synch. Good, yes. In... out...," one of the instructors calmly drones on.

I do as I'm supposed to, glancing around at the other groups to check that I'm doing it right... hell if I know what "lotus pose" is. It's criss-cross-applesauce in my book. But I hold still, breathing deep in my core, my shoulder blades pressed against my partners.

Nearby whispers deter my attention.

"This is ridiculous..."

"You're ridiculous, I..."

"...it's couples yoga..."

"...with any partner... can just pretend I'm your..."

"I have a girlfriend, remember? I'm not pretending to be your boyfriend, Ronan!"

That last one wasn't exactly a whisper and a few others turn to look at them.

I glance next to us out of the corner of my eye at Ronan and Jasper's quarreling. As disagreeing as Jasper seems, he's still sitting in position with Ronan... even if he is squirming in place.

We follow the instructions, each of us rotating at our hips and reaching back with an arm. I stretch until I find a cool, fabric-covered knee and grip it lightly. An icy hand lands on my own knee at the same moment, as we mirror each other's positions.

The instructor coaches us more on breathing techniques, on how and when to breathe—but it comes surprisingly easy to me. Kal's rib cage expands against me as he inhales, then releases smoothly on an exhale, and I find myself syncing to his rhythm without trying.

We return to our first position before we're shown something else. We connect our hands over our head and I lean forward as Kal leans far back in a backbend. I pull gently on his arms to help him stretch, then we hold it for a bit. After that, we switch and he pulls me into a backbend, but I quickly realize I'm not nearly as flexible as him. He reacts to my resistance and eases the pressure, thankfully.

A grumbled "ow," sounds from Jasper, and another quick peek reveals an amused Ronan pulling him into a forced bend.

We move through some poses, the first few focusing more on stretching and flexibility— not my strong suit. It does give me time to admire Kal's lithe form since he seems to have no problem with these. Images I probably shouldn't be having right now pop into my head but I shut my mind off before it can go fully into the gutter.

We stand and make a "tree" together, which is more difficult than it sounds. We have to help each other balance on one foot, but we manage to hold it since my wobbles are held up by Kal's solid arm entwined with mine and his hip firmly pressed against my side.

The downward dog is about the only infamous pose I'm familiar with. What I didn't realize though, is how hard it actually is. It's a weird combination of strength and flexibility, so while my palms and shoulders pleasantly burn, I struggle to get my hips and legs into the correct angle. I guess that's why it's helpful to have a partner because his current job is to help me into position.

I totally understand now why this pose is so well known...

It's super fucking embarrassing.

My ass is just hanging out up in the air like a beacon. The only compensation is that half of the rest of the group is like that too. Also, Kal is standing in front of me near my head instead of behind me, so I've managed to avoid that additional embarrassment.

Or so I thought.

Things get a little awkward when I feel his hands on my bare hips since my shirt slipped down due to stupid gravity.

He leans into his hands and puts gentle pressure on my hip bones from above, which admittedly does ease me into a more comfortable stretch.

"Better?" He asks quietly.

I can't see him since he's perched above my back, but if the amusement in his voice is any indication, my ass is probably close to eye level for him.

"Maybe it is for you."

"Touché," he comments back with a breathy chuckle.

I small smack echoes close by and I catch Jasper swatting Ronan's pesky hand away from his butt.

The tides quickly turn as we swap positions. I come back up and Kal throws me a smirk as he bends down to the ground. His form is way better than mine, but I still grip his hips for good measure.

"Enjoying the view up there?"

Yes. "Nah, I've seen better," I lie through my teeth.

He arches his back more and does a little butt wiggle. "Better?"

I choke back a laugh and pat his hip. "Pfft! Stop it, people are gonna start staring!"

"Whatever, maybe one of them will admit it's a good view."

"Ok, ok! Yes, it's a good view! Now stop that, I'm going to lose my grip!"

He stands back up with the rest of the group, but we're the only two with goofy smiles on our faces. Everyone else, besides Ro and Jas, is a perfect picture of calm and serene. Which just makes it that much harder not to bust up laughing.

We're led through a few more poses, and some of them get fairly tough and intricate. At one point Kal is literally perched right over the top of me in a sort of plank. I lay on my back and hold his legs over my head while he supports himself over my feet. He was supposed to keep his head straight, but he keeps flopping his head down to look at me and make a weird face. It takes all my willpower to hold him up while trying not to laugh.

I manage to get him back though...

I had flashbacks of doing airplane as a kid while I held Kal up above me with just my feet on his hips. He was doing his best to balance himself, and when I fake-drop him the sudden fear in his eyes makes it all worth it!

As we begin to finish up we're guided through some more restful ones to "reorient and ground ourselves." And at the very end, we sit in lotus pose again, face to face this time. (I figured out how to do it this time! There is technically a difference, I guess.) We sit close together so our knees are touching, with our backs straight and our hands gripping each other's forearms. We're meant to be closing our eyes for some meditation but I find myself looking around instead.

It's serene for a few glorious moments until I realize it's actually completely, oddly silent... no whispered comments from the next mat over. Sure enough, both of them are sitting still with their eyes closed, seemingly content for the first time all morning.

I swear, Jasper is the biggest tsundere. He does shit like this all the time: makes a big deal out of doing something, gets all embarrassed and harsh, but then once he gets "forced" into it he softens up and enjoys it. Even after knowing him for years, it's still hard to read him sometimes because he never really says what he means. It's like he can't just say "yes" or "thank you" without getting overly flustered about it.

The fact that Ronan didn't let him back out of this today and then paired up with him, tells me he's catching onto Jasper's antics. For better or for worse.

I look back to Kal and take in our current position. We're only about a foot apart and my vision roams all over his messy hair, flushed cheeks, and soft smile. Then lower to his chest, which rises and falls heavily as he tries to regain some even breathing—

A cold spike shoots through my forearms from beneath his hands.

What the hell?

His now open eyes and raised brows reflect cool amusement after he most likely just saw me check him out.

Well shit. No use denying it. I stick my tongue out at him in challenge as I send heat through my palms the same way he did to me.

He presses his lips together to contain a shocked giggle. When he mostly gets it under control, he sticks his tongue out in response and increases the chill on my arm.

A silent battle of temperatures has begun, for reasons I'm unsure of, but nonetheless am delighted to partake in. His arctic eyes remain indifferent as I turn up my heat as well. He doesn't so much as flinch when I increase it to the point where I'm holding back flames. Interesting.

I feel a faint icy sting, but nothing more than that— it supports my previous idea that we seem to cancel each other out.

In a flash, he lets go of my right arm only to grasp my bare thigh in a freezing grip.

Holy shit, now that is cold!

I flinch, but at least have the sense to stifle my yelp. He just smirks at me and sticks his pink tongue out again in victory. The smug little jerkface.