Author's Notes: After watching "Take Your Marks", I decided that I needed a little more Sou-chan in my life, and I thought I would share, in a series of small one-shots. I do hope you get a laugh as this is my first venture into writing for this fandom.

NNN

Samezuka Academy Swim Club had taken a page out of the Iwatobi manual and devised a camping trip as the perfect team building experience. The weather was supposed to be nice that weekend and all parties had been interested in the adventure.

"Momo-kun…" Nitori's tone was uneasy, as he held up the poles for their tent and watched as his younger teammate pulled the fabric at odd angles. "…This looks all wrong…"

"Don't you worry, Nitori-senpai! I've got this!"

Yet Momotarou's exuberance was hardly reassuring…

NNN

Meanwhile, Sousuke was busy hammering tent stakes into the ground of his and Rin's temporary home away from home.

"Sousuke?"

The brunette looked up to find his childhood friend holding a bottle of water toward him with a grin.

"Aa. Thanks."

He stood, unscrewing the cap of the bottle before taking a swig and looked out toward the ocean. There was a light breeze in the air, as they stood together in tank tops and track pants.

"It's just like old times, right?"

Rin's question takes him back to simpler days, but the protests coming from a few sites down, easily brings him back to the present.

"Aa," the taller teen spares a glance toward the tent falling inward on their younger teammates and scowls, "but I remember it being a lot quieter back then."

"Honestly," the red head states with a sigh, shoulders slumping, "And here I thought I'd only have to worry about you getting lost on this trip."

When he turned, Rin found the spot next to him empty and blinked, finding Sousuke good-naturedly making his way toward the two with hammer in hand.

NNN

Momo felt the weight of the tent be lifted from him and looked upward at their savior.

"Yamazaki-senpai," he announced with excitement, popping up like a Jack in the Box with a grin, "Did you come to help us?!"

Nitori looked thankful, slowly crawling on his hands and knees away from the makeshift prison with a sigh. It was going to be a long weekend.

"I told you to call me Sousuke," was his flat response, motioning for Momo to move out of the way.

"Roger that, Sousuke-senpai!"

In a matter of minutes their tent was propped and stakes being hammered in, courtesy of one, Yamazaki Sousuke.

Rin looked on with a small smile. Some things never changed…

NNN

Even though Sousuke couldn't compete competitively, he was still an active member of their team and his opinions valued by the younger classmen. In fact, despite his tall stature and stoic nature, the teen was relatively popular at their high school.

"Yamazaki-senpai, what do you think of my stroke?"

"No fair, I asked him first!"

"It's obvious that Sousuke-senpai was too busy watching my backstroke!"

"Momo…" came multiple groans.

Rin ran a towel through his hair, watching as several of the members flocked to his friend's side. He even noticed the upward curl of the brunette's lips as he nodded.

"Yamazaki-senpai is really popular," Nitori comments with a smile, toweling the water from his arms, "No wonder you like him so much."

Rin's eyes softened, he did like Sousuke…but as he had once stated, it was kind of hard to hate your alter-ego. Being on the same team now, it wasn't difficult like it had been in the past. Perhaps it was just the idea that the brunette's dream had supposedly ended that bothered Rin the most…seriously, there had to be a way for Sousuke to swim again, right?

NNN

After a few burned attempts of cooking over an open flame, Sousuke took over much to the relief of all members.

"Where did you learn to cook like that," Nitori chimed in with a sincere smile.

The brunette pursued his lips, squatting before the fire and poking the embers with a stick, "I spent a lot of time alone as a kid."

Nitori's eyes watered and he was about apologize for hitting upon something so personal when Momo's hands appeared on his shoulders, pushing him downward and announcing,

"Sousuke-senpaiiiiiiiiiiii!" came an earth shattering plea, "I'm so hungry!"

Rin rolled his eyes, as he currently occupied a log. Things had been more peaceful before Momotarou and perhaps a little less dramatic.

Everyone sighed in relief as Sousuke threw Momo a snack and he loudly expressed his content while chewing.

NNN

They sat around the bonfire, as the flames created eerie shadows against their features. Momo was currently taking his hand at ghost stories, but some members of the audience (ie: Sousuke's yawn and Rin's look of disbelief) indicated this might not be his forte. Yet Nitori's shrill cry when Momo got to the climax of the tale with an added BANG made all of the members laugh at his expense.

Nitori sat with reddened cheeks, his hand over his heart as he tried to catch his breath. Rin ruffled his hair before standing.

"I say we douse the fire and call it a night," their captain informed, watching his team respond.

NNN

They walked back from the bathroom together with flashlights in hand. It had been an exceptionally warm May day; however, once the sun set it didn't take long for the chill of the night to form around them.

Sousuke paused, taking a moment to look upward at the star filled night sky, the hood of his sweatshirt up to block out the wind.

Rin smirked, "Didn't think you were one to take in the finer things in life?"

The brunette grinned, "Yeah, well, being in Tokyo for so long you miss out on these things."

"I still don't know how you managed in a city," came Rin's taunt, with the accompanying jab of his elbow at his companion's side, "you can't even go to the bathroom without getting lost."

Sousuke opened his mouth to protest but then closed it once more…this was probably true…

NNN

The moment Rin heard the zipper of the tent open, he should have expected the worse...

The appointed captain sat up, putting his phone down and ready to assume the potential duties of nursemaid or emergency responder, "Why aren't you two in bed?"

Momo's face was illuminated by the light of his flashlight, shining brightly as he flashed his pearly white teeth. Nitori on the other end, shielded his eyes as the beam shot erratically as Momo spoke, chiding the younger boy,

"Momo-kun, I told you we shouldn't be out here."

"Don't be stingy, Rin-senpai," cried Momo with a pout, sounding like a petulant child, his face taking up much of the view in the open door of their tent.

"Stingy," Rin scoffed, sitting cross legged, "What the hell are you talking about?"

"It's freezing out here," began Momo with a pout, "And you've got Sousuke-senpai to keep you warm!"

Rin blinked not once, but twice, and his mouth opened then closed in confusion. "Huh?"

"Oh Momo-kun…I told you to pack warmer clothes…" Nitori gave a sigh and shot both of their older teammates an apologetic look.

"Sousuke-senpai is so big and warm…" Momo continued, his pout growing as he looked toward Rin, (nope he wasn't going to budge), then fixed his puppy dog eyes on Sousuke.

Sousuke looked up from the spot on his sleeping bag, arm propped behind his head and placid expression, "I guess it can't be helped..."

"Wait? What?" Rin managed to sputter, as he heard the excited gasp from both boys.

Rin watched in horror as Ai and Momo piled into their tent with pillows, blankets and a capybara plushie, before snuggling in next to Sousuke.

"See, Nitori-senpai?! Sousuke-senpai is warm!"

Nitori made a little chirp and nodded, while Rin slowly zipped the tent back up.

"I don't believe this shit…" he mumbled under his breath.

There was Sousuke laying on his back in between Ai and Momo.

"Sousuke-senpai look at my capybara plushie! Isn't it the cutest?!"

Rin's face deadpanned, watching as Momo made the plushie walk on Sousuke's chest. Sousuke's face held a stoic expression, eyes half lidded watching the movements of said plushie—probably felt it was better than a stag beetle. Their captain's gaze shifted to Ai's beat red face as he placed his pillow next to Sousuke's and pulled up the blanket.

"Th-thank you, Yamazaki-senpai!"

Sousuke's gaze lazily fell upon Rin, yet those teal eyes seemed to hold some mirth, "There's room for you too, Rin."

"Of course! There's lot of room, Matsuoka-senpai!"

"You can sleep ne-next to me if you want."

Rin turned his face quickly away from the trio and grumbled, "Like hell I will…"

NNN

Rin awoke with a growl from some unknown impact. Upon further observation he determined the culprit to be a foot…not just any foot but Momo's foot!

Damn it!

Now as the fog was beginning to lift from his brain, Rin remembered he was stuck sharing a tent with Ai, Momo and Sousuke. He knew he shouldn't have brought the four man tent—it had invited trouble!

The wind could be heard as it rustled the fabric of the tent, almost drowning out the crashing of the ocean's waves. He paused, instead of lying back down, and saw that Momo had rolled out of the protection of the blanket fortress and there seemed to be a gap in between him and Sousuke.

Rin rubbed the back of his neck and quietly chuckled, no way was he going to…

NNN

He'd just try it.

Only once, just to see what the big deal was…

Wow. Sousuke was warm. Like really warm compared to the sleeping bag Rin had brought.

His eyes narrowed sparing a cautious glance over the brunette's broad chest, making sure that Ai was still asleep. Then just as suspiciously he turned his head, his gaze resting on a snoring Momo, before lying back down.

Yeah…this wasn't so bad…

He'd almost fallen asleep when seemingly out of nowhere a voice rang out,

"Alpacas, capybaras and stag beetles! I can't believe you want to give them all to me!"

Rin's eye twitched as Momo's laugh filled the tent, but that's not all that caught his attention.

"Oh…" came a quiet voice making Rin's body stiffen.

"So you did get cold, Rin?"

There was amusement laced in that lazy drawl and it did not go unnoticed. Rin hesitantly opened an eye and found an awaiting smirk on the face of his childhood best friend. There seemed to be a special glint in those teal eyes too.

"Tch," he managed, trying to shield his embarrassment, "Shut the hell up…"

"Oh…Momo-kun…" tiredly mumbled Nitori, in response to Momo's continued ramblings about odd animals, smacking his lips in the process, "…No more….stag beetles…"

Both Sousuke and Rin chuckled as Nitori's head slumped forward onto his pillow. Sousuke took two fingers and shifted the teen's face away from the pillow—no sense in risking asphyxiation on this little outing.

The taller teen reached down and pulled up the blanket around them much to Rin's dismay.

"Wait! What are you doing," was his accusatory hiss.

Sousuke paused and arched an eyebrow, "You're staying aren't you?"

Rin closed his eyes, he could feel his cheeks warming, "…Aa…"

He felt the warmth of the fabric fall upon his shoulders and the added warmth of Sousuke next to him. Before he could think any further his eyes shot open.

Momo sat straight up, drawing their attentions, as he proclaimed, "I shall ride my alpaca to victory!"

"…Does he have to stay?" Rin covered his head with the pillow.

Sousuke continued to watch as the younger boy pointed his index finger upward and laughed, and to think he would have missed all this, had he stayed in Tokyo.

Rin just groaned.

NNN

Please leave a comment if you enjoyed or if you have an idea for a future scene. Thank you so much!