Settling the Score

The days that Gou came to watch the Samezuka's swim practice were rare, and days where she arrived at the pool before her brother or Sousuke were even more rare. Today was one of those days and he wasn't going to be taking it for granted.

Momo barely ever had time to have a conversation with Gou and these were the fleeting opportunities he had learned to rely on. Hopefully he'd get to chat with her for a few minutes before any of the others barged in on their moment.

Gou was crouched by the pool with her hand in the water. "Hi, Gou!" Momo waved, catching her attention.

Gou withdrew her hand from the water and shook the stray droplets from her hand before wiping it on the back of her shirt. She must have come over directly after school because she was still wearing her uniform. "Oh, hi Momo," she said. Momotarou couldn't fight the giddiness in his stomach from her continuation of remembering his name. "Are my brother and Sousuke going to be here soon?"

"Indubitably," he said, which wasn't a lie. With his luck they'd probably sweep her away at any second, but he hoped they wouldn't be around for a while yet.

"I'm surprised how cold the water is," she continued, stooping to dip another finger in the water. "It's even colder than our pool at Iwatobi and that one is outside."

Momo shrugged, unsure of how to shift the conversation to what was really on his mind. He pinched the lining of his swim hoodie between his thumb and forefinger. It was the only article of clothing he had on besides his swim suit. "Hey, Gou?"

"Mhm?"

"Remember a couple weeks back when you were scoring all of the guys' muscles on the team?"

Gou's eyes lit up in delight. "Oh yeah! Sousuke has a beautiful trapezius! And Aiichiro's deltoids are really coming along! And you—" she paused hesitantly.

"—scored a two. I know. However! I have been training a lot the last few weeks and want to be re-scored!" He unzipped his hoodie and revealed his bare chest. "Ta-dah! How's this?"

Gou narrowed her eyes as she gave him a calculated onceover. "Mhm," she hummed. Momo held his breath in anticipation but the look she was giving him wasn't very encouraging. "Five," she said.

"Five!" Momo couldn't believe his ears. All that hard work and strained muscles for a lousy five rating? "That's a little low, isn't it? I mean...aren't they at least a six?"

Gou's lips thinned into a line. Momo tried to ignore the burning embarrassment in his cheeks. "Your abs need a bit more work before you can score a six," she admitted.

Momo felt his lungs deflate. A large jab had been made at his ego. Had he really made that much little progress in the last few weeks of his training? He had even waded through Seijuro's old bedroom to find his Death Week regimen that was attributed to building him up so well. Maybe Momo was just a hopeless case?

But he had been so confident!

He traced his finger along the curve of his flexed stomach muscles. "Maybe if you felt them…" he murmured more to himself than anything, but he realized his mistake when Gou's face lit up.

"Okay!" She surged forward and before Momo knew it, Gou's ponytail was tickling his nose as she held her palm out over his stomach.

"Ahh, uh." Momo tried to stop himself from making stupid noises, but he was trying hard not to move. Gou was like a small animal; if he moved to fast or said the wrong thing, he'd chase her away. Except, despite her enthusiasm, Gou wasn't trying to cop a feel like she usually would.

In his own mortified embarrassment Momo hadn't noticed that Gou's cheeks were a dusty pink and her hand trembled just above his stomach. Cautiously, Momo touched his fingertips to her wrist and guided her hand to his stomach. Her fingers spread a warmth against his skin that made his insides melt.

"See?" he whispered, a small chuckle escaping. "Not too bad, right?'

Gou cracked a smile that reached up to her eyes. "No," her voice was soft, shy, "not bad at all."

She tilted her head up and Momo instantly appreciated the minimal height difference; he liked how their noses were inches apart and he caught how her eyes flickered down to his lips. Was she...genuinely checking him out? This was the best day of his life.

"Gou?" he asked in a hushed tone.

"What if I were to just…" Gou trailed off as she closed the gap between them, placing her lips against his.

The contact made Momo's stomach clench in bliss as his mouth moved with hers. He could tell that she was inexperienced in kissing which made it all the more exhilarating because this was his first kiss as well.

Her hand that was placed firmly against his stomach inched upward along his chest until she had perched both of her hands on the back of his neck. Her fingers played with the curls at the nape of his neck, sending chills down his mostly exposed body.

Gou pulled away first, but Momo moved forward to catch her in a second kiss. She returned it without resistance and this time Momo set his hands on her hips respectfully. When she pulled away the second time, he released his hold on her to allow her space.

"So," he tried to find his voice, "am I still a five?"

Gou laughed out loud, a melodic sound that echoed throughout the tiled room. "I suppose arguments could be made for a six. But not higher than that!"

Momo blushed, using the wings of his hoodie to cover his body which he was suddenly a little conscious of. Then a pair of big hands grasped him by the shoulder and Momo felt his life flash before him.

"Arguments could be made for what?" Momo recognized Rin's voice, but he was too afraid to face him.

Gou laughed, the subtle pink blush on her cheeks barely still evident. "Big brother! We were talking about the better swimmer between Momotarou and Seijuro!" She regarded Momo with a soft smile. "And I said arguments could be made that Momo is the better swimmer."

Momo grasped a fistful of his sweatshirt that set directly over his heart. She was so cute.

Rin scoffed, releasing Momo and then giving his hair a good natured ruffle. "This guy has got a lot more training ahead of him but he's definitely got the potential."

Momo was nervous to meet her eyes again, but when he did, he was greeted with a smile. "I agree," she said.

Rin walked off as Sousuke, Aiichiro, and other teammates found their way to the pool and settled into their routines. Momo drifted closer to Gou, unsure of what to say. "So, are you going to be around at Samezuka a bit more often?" he finally asked after a slightly awkward silence.

Gou recovered much quicker. "Perhaps. But that doesn't mean I'll let my guys go easy on you."

"They'd better not show mercy! I'm gonna earn your affection fair and square."

"Oh you." Gou clasped her hands together and beamed. "Just go get in the pool! You don't want your muscles to cramp."

Momo nodded, shedding his jacket in a fluid motion. Maybe there was hope that he'd impress her with a rating of a perfect ten by the time the season was over.

Until then, he looked forward to having her cheer for him.

...

this is based on a comic i found on tumblr by user ask-goumatsuoka! I would leave a link but sadly their account has been deactivated. You can still find the comic on there though if you search momogou ! thanks for reading !

6/18/18