Disclaimer: : The only thing I own is the story idea and only some of the witty remarks. I own so little; so please don't steal.
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Things must look different underwater, Simon thinks as he floats gently on top of the public pool. On top, everything is crystal clear and he is aware of his surroundings. Jack, who is swimming underneath him like a koi carp, must see him as an unidentifiable blob on the surface, a dark splotch in the midst of light and blue. The orange water wings around his arms remind him of Jack's red hair, which appears as the boy resurfaces for breath and Simon says, "I don't know how to swim."
"What?" Jack rubs his waterlogged bangs out of his eyes as he blinks the chlorine off his eyelashes and stares at Simon, floating on his back with a serene look on his face. "You…you don't?"
"No. My mother never let me near the water in case I fainted and drowned when she couldn't get there in time."
"You have to get out then." Simon lets Jack flip him upright and wraps a water winged arm around the older boy's neck. "You should have told me. I wouldn't have let them talk you into coming." Jack glances over at Ralph, who is splashing around with Sameneric – well, only Sam, really, as Roger was leading Eric away into deeper water.
"If I didn't tell you, you wouldn't have known," Simon murmurs as Jack keeps a steady arm around his waist and floats over to the edge. "You think you're such a hero, saving me and such."
"I was about to dunk you under," Jack insists, flicking Simon on the forehead while keeping the smaller boy's head above water. "You have to tell me about these things. I can't keep you safe if I don't know these things."
"Your protectiveness is overbearing." Simon doesn't resist, though, when Jack plops him over on the edge and pushes him back when he tries to enter the pool again. "I need my space, Jack."
"I'm your upperclassman," Jack sniffs, but floating around to watch Simon. "I've got to keep you safe." He thinks, a softer look briefly crossing his face. "If you get lonely, I could get out and stay with you…"
"No, I wouldn't want that." Simon looks around and for a moment, Jack frowns; Simon didn't have to pretend that in a public place, he didn't want to be seen with him. But when Jack follows Simon's line of sight, he notices he is looking a groups of girls – groups of girls who had said hi to him coyly when they entered. Silly boy, thinking he can protect someone older and stronger than him from such things. Jack is about to call him out on it but Simon suddenly slips into the water unexpectedly. Jack rushes over to him as Simon wipes the water off his face.
"Jack, as head choir boy, you have the responsibility to keep my vocal cords healthy." Splashing around, Simon grabbed at Jack. "And I want to swim, so you'll keep me afloat, okay?"
Jack opens his mouth to protest but a laugh escapes instead. "Don't order me around, you batty idiot, but I don't know if I can keep holding on to you…you're fat, quite frankly."
Simon thrashes around and splashes him in the face but Jack laughs again and keeps his grip on the boy. The girls watching him smile briefly and turn away but Jack doesn't have time to regain their attention; he's got a duty to keep Simon safe, and that's best done when the boy is in his arms.
End
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Note: Sorry, this isn't the meeting fic. It's fluff. Someone stop me. Somehow, now that I've (sort of) established their relationship in my AU, Simon's gotten less snarky. ARG I MISS YOU SNARKY SIMON! I'll get working on the meeting one, then. ARG.